Melanie Littlejohn’s goal: Making the region a better place
By Stefan Yablonski
Melanie Littlejohn wants to make the world a better place for her grandchildren — and everyone’s children, too.
The CNY Community Foundation named Littlejohn as its next president and CEO late last year. The appointment was effective March 1. She succeeds Peter Dunn, who served as the president and CEO since 2008. Dunn left in June 2023, after 15 years, for a similar position in Worcester, Massachusetts.
She is the first Black person to hold the job.
Katrina Crocker, vice president of communications for the Community Foundation, declined to say what Littlejohn will be paid. Littlejohn’s salary will become publicly available in the IRS Form 990 that is released fall 2025. During his final year, Dunn reportedly earned a base salary of $284,000 and total compensation of $372,000. Littlejohn’s salary is similar.
In December 2023, Littlejohn announced her plans to retire from National Grid Feb. 1.
She worked for National Grid since 1994, when she initially joined the company as director of inclusion and diversity — U.S. operations. In this role, she was responsible for the company’s overall strategy for inclusion, diversity and compliance. Most recently she served as vice president of customer and community engagement.
Prior to starting at National Grid, Littlejohn served as executive director of the Urban League of Onondaga County and manager of international client services for Banker’s Trust Company in the Wall Street district. She holds a master’s in business administration degree from Syracuse University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
She said she plans to “apply my career and life experiences to the Community Foundation’s work by supporting community transformation and fully engaging residents, including those impacted by specific issues and donors of varying backgrounds.”
She was born and raised in Queens and that is where she met her husband, David. She met her husband when she was 5 years old — they grew up in the same neighborhood in Jamaica Queens.
In addition to their biological children, Melanie and her younger brother, her parents raised 24 foster sisters.
Littlejohn describes her parents as “my heroes.”
“They taught me what service looks like,” she said. “Being married for 35 plus years, I have two adult sons: Jared, 31 and Cameron, 28.” Jared works at Exelon in Maryland and Cameron is a second-grade teacher in Syracuse.
She has lived in Syracuse for more than 30 years.
And she has two grandchildren “one 9 months old and one teen years old and two beautiful daughters-in-law and I am thrilled they are in my life. I want to leave the world better not only for my children and grandchildren but for everyone’s children and grandchildren,” she said. “I look at them, even though I am tired — really tired — I’m there for them because I owe that
to them.”
What does she do to relax?
“Relax? (laughs); my down time used to be spent doing something creative. I used to be a jewelry maker many years ago. I may resume that because when you think about art and creativity, it really allows your brain to become really innovative when you design. It’s a way to escape all of the noise that can happen in a day. That and yoga will get me through,” she said.
They have a havanese, a miniature poodle and a pit bull — “my granddogs” — Sonny, P’nut and Wade.
The dogs belong to Littlejohn’s sons.
“Our pit bull is a big baby. He’s the most gentle, loving of the three. He’s 90 pounds and thinks he’s a lap dog; he’s got to kiss you,” she said. “Pit bulls some times get a bad rap — but ours is just adorable.”
‘A beautiful thing’
“Well, I was planning to retire anyway. So when this opportunity presented itself, I said, ‘wow, this would be a beautiful thing to do as I close one chapter and open my next chapter,’” she said.
“I had the great fortune to cover National Grid’s New York state territory. I was traveling three plus days a week for the last 15 plus years,” she added. “It was time to come back home and to be here.”
A few years ago, she joined the Community Foundation’s board; and chaired the board between 2011 and 2013.
“I have had this wonderful relationship with the Community Foundation for a really long time,” she said. “I am a grandmother. I am doing this not only for my grandchildren — and I have two — I am not only doing it for them, I am doing it for all children,” she stressed. “They deserve to inherit a region that is thriving.
“You know what drives me to help the community? I live here and it is important to be a steward, a good steward, of the community that has been good to you. When I see children who suffer or I see people and families who are unhoused or people who need access to services — I think about what we need to do to give children the best foot forward in their lives, equity and health care. I am committed to that and I think about this moment and that is one of the catalytic things to me — this moment of great change in the region.”
The Micron moment
“You heard about this little company called Micron. I have seen so much collaboration, so everyone can capitalize on the moment. It’s exciting to be a part of it,” she continued. “This community has been good to me. I owe them … to stand up and help this community be all that it can be. It just means so much! I can’t think of more important work to do right now.”
“The Micron moment happened and the changes on I-81 happened — it’s creating an opportunity to coalesce around a moment,” she pointed out.
“I am seeing a lot more collaboration. There have been so many people — good folks — working on some of these really tough and big issues for a long time and have already started to put the right things in place to change the trajectory of lives. Whether you live in an urban setting or a rural setting, there has been so much work and commitment to really try to strengthen the region in really important ways.”
“How are we going to take this moment — with all of our partners and all of us rowing together — to make Central New York that thriving and resilient community?’’ she asked rhetorically. “I think the foundation will be knee deep in that.”
Community Foundation’s mission
The mission of the foundation is to be a public charity and its objective is to steward donors’ dollars to ensure that good happens with those dollars. “Right now there are so many opportunities that we may partner with more and more people to keep driving positive impacts,” she explained.
There is plenty of work to go around, she said, adding that she held listening sessions in April.
“I have had a total of five listening sessions. I’ve talked to hundreds of people and some of the biggest things that have emerged — and some not a surprise — housing affordability and access to healthy homes. The region has probably one of the highest concentrations of lead poisoning. Those things came up. Education K-12, how are we going to provide an opportunity for our young people and how are we going to ensure our school system can provide that curriculum. But also thinking about the massive responsibility that school systems have in children and families’ lives — how might we support them more?” she said.
Workforce development and getting people through workforce programs and having them in a meaningful and living wage job when they end up is also an issue.
“Part and parcel of that is how do we make that happen,” she said. “Health care, child care and different forms of health care in facility or in home off hours — how do we re-imagine all of this?”
The poverty problem
“Eradicate poverty, that’s what we have to do because there is so much under that — issues of equity, child care, transportation, health care, affordable housing — all of that is underpinned under that whole view of eradicate poverty,” she said.
One of the strongest things that kept coming up during the listening sessions was mental health and well-being and the fear, post-COVID, around the increase in mental health issues, Littlejohn said.
“Someone told me at one of my meetings that between the ages of 10 and 25 they see the most significant increase in mental health issues,” she said. “SUNY Upstate does tremendous work in that regard; St. Joe’s and others also. We need more, right? We need more supports.”
“One of the other common things that I think is also important — as much as I heard around these issues — I also heard a theme of people wanting to roll up their sleeves together to get stuff done! I have been in this community almost 40 years and I think the crescendo around what we have to do together is louder than I have ever heard it,” she added.
Not done yet
“For me, there is no better place to be than with this foundation and in this tremendous community,” Littlejohn said. “After almost 30 years at National Grid, I understand the power of service and the importance of collaboration to leave our communities and neighborhoods a little better than we found them. This is truly a transformative time for Central New York, so leading the Community Foundation at this moment of great promise is an honor. There is more to grow, more to happen as well — so stay tuned!”
Community Foundation: $20.7M Awarded in 2023
The Central New York Community Foundation is a public charity that turns community dollars into community change. Established in 1927, it receives contributions from donors, manages them to grow over time and then distributes funding to address the region’s greatest needs. Each year, the foundation provides millions of dollars in grants to a variety of projects, some designated by donors but most selected by the board. The foundation, over its 96-year life, has invested more than $270 million in community projects that benefit Central New York. It also serves as a civic leader, convener and sponsor of strategic initiatives that foster a thriving and equitable region and address the most critical issues of our time.
The Community Foundation receives contributions from donors and invests them, averaging an annual return of about 7%. At last count, the organization held assets of $393 million.
Last year alone, the foundation awarded $20.7 million in grants to hundreds of organizations.
